Being parents is no joke!

November 12, 2005

Book Review: What's Going On In There?

I forget who suggested this book to me, but I have been reading it on and off for a while now: Whats going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life by Lise Eliot, Ph.D.

The author is both a neuroscientist and a mom, and is really good at explaining neuroscience concepts in layman's terms. The Amazon reviews for the book are pretty good, so I will defer to them (here's the link).

Two suggestions:

Read this book BEFORE the baby comes. Trust me on this one. It's amazing how sleep deprivation really affects the ability to comprehend and retain even the most basic information isn't it? ;)

Read it with a highlighter in your hand and a pad of paper next to you. You'll want to take notes while you read it, because nuggets of information that make you think "this is DEFINITELY what I should do when the baby is X months old" are lost in the text, and are very very hard to find later (I tried, unsuccesfully, for this post)

Come to think of it, the first suggestion is good for all parenting books: if you and your partner are expecting, read ahead while you can still understand what you are reading! :)